When we think of coughing and sore throat, the first thing that crosses our mind is winter, and to be quite honest, snow-laden landscapes and ice rinks look like two perfectly good places to catch a cold.

All bright and sunny, but nowhere nearly as hot as summer, spring is a season that sees some of the biggest temperature fluctuations throughout the year. There’s no better way to earn a sore throat than by running around in shorts.

Unfortunately, my sons are just as eager to engage in any outdoor activity that requires the least possible amount of clothing, as they are easy to earn a cold (which, undoubtedly, makes them the sons of their father).

Bottom line, I’ve seen my share of teas, soups, and cough syrups. Last year, I decided to expand my arsenal of cold-fighting weaponry with cough drops. Let me share the intel I’ve gathered in the meantime and see if I can help you to discover the best cough drops currently floating on the market.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before I proceed to dissection of the current cough drop market offer, I first owe you an explanation what are cough drops, how do they work and what separates good cough drops from bad ones. So, let us start from the beginning.

Just imagine – it took them more than 2,000 years to find a way to my home. What a long and epic journey!

What exactly are Cough Drops Doing?

What I was also very surprised to learn is that cough drops are not actually a medicine aimed at fighting or even preventing cold. However, they do an amazing job in relieving the common flu symptoms like coughing, pain, sore throat and inflammation.

Cough drops can also help you to clear your stuffy sinus passages and chest congestion. If they are packed with Vitamin C, cough drops can even kickstart your metabolism.

They are affordable, suitable for all ages and as long as you don’t expect them to solve all of your problems they will be a worthy winter and transition period ally.

What Types of Cough Drops Can You Find on the Market?

And now, let’s quickly breeze through some of the most common types of cough drops so I can point out to some of the things you should pay attention to while buying.

Medicated cough drops – Although their primary purpose is to provide symptomatic relief, some of the lozenges are designed to perform the duty of pharmaceuticals as well. Most of them contain vitamin C and zinc, that are both believed to strengthen people’s immune system. However, some drops contain numbing ingredients, painkillers and, in some cases, even antihistamines. While all this is fine, it should be obvious that, unlike regular drops, these drugs should not be used without prior consultation with a doctor.

Flavored cough drops – Cough drops are produced in a huge variety of different flavors, which is a great thing, especially if you are trying to get your small child used to them. However, this situation has one huge downside. Composition-wise, some of these lozenges are not that different from regular candies. High levels of ﻿﻿sugar content can do nothing but aggravate a sore throat, raise your blood sugar levels and ruin your diet. So, if you are tired of same old mint flavor, at least do your best to read the fine print and make sure your drops are not sugar bombs.

Synthetic cough drops – From my personal experience, I can tell you that synthetic and natural lozenges basically do the same job. If anything, synthetic drops are often even more efficient because they leave the door opened for various chemical-based ingredients that boost their medicinal properties. But, if your lifestyle preferences or diet restrictions are preventing you from using such drops, it’s perfectly ok – you will still get a pretty extensive pool to choose from. Just be careful and do a short research before you spend any money.

And here’s a short rundown of the ingredients you can usually find (individually and in combination with each other) in what I like to call a perfectly ordinary cough drop, to see what you are getting into and is this particular type of symptom relief even your cup of tea (see also the best tea kettle for gas stove).

Menthol

Spearmint

Honey

Peppermint oil

Pectin

Dextromethorphan (a very potent cough reliever)

Eucalyptus oil

Benzocaine (a mild topical anesthetic)

What all these things amount to?

Well, the most important thing I’ve learned while researching the drops is that, for the products that are supposed to make you feel better, they are more than capable of doing you a great disservice if you are not using them properly or you are not informed on their composition.

But, that was a pretty solid foundation and I had to find a more efficient way to help my boys overcome their traditional spring soreness than endlessly stuffing them with tea and soup. Even if that meant that I would have to assume the role of guinea pig for a week or two.

After all, what are calories and artificial sweeteners compared to endless mother’s love?

So, here are the results of my little research:

Most Recommended Cough Drops: Detailed Reviews 2019

On the first glance, these lozenges look terribly unremarkable. In a pharmacy, they are just as good as invisible. However, it just so happened that I did notice them and one word in particular grabbed my attention – silver.

Yes, “Silver” we are talking here is not a buzzword and it doesn’t refer to the color of the package – each drop in it contains a teaspoon of the 30ppm silver solution, which simply blew my mind.

But, it turned out that, besides being a useful anti-vampire tool, silver also doubles down as an incredibly effective immune support element. Keep it in your mouth for about six minutes, and your throat should feel much better. Since that, obviously, doesn't sound like an attractive prospect, the manufacturer made sure that you have six different flavors to choose from.

My personal favorites are Sweet Menthol and Green Apple. Furthermore, they perform really, really well. Take one drop and your cough and soreness will quickly disappear.

Of course, there's a downside to this and, as you can probably guess, sucking silver on a daily basis is not that cheap of an endeavor. I truly fell in love with these lozenges, but, due to their price, I buy them only when someone in my family catches a terrible case of the flu.

Things I Liked

Silver Throat Lozenges do what they were supposed to do with extreme grace and efficiency.

Silver does bring some genuine change to the table.

Six different flavors to choose from.

Things I Didn’t Like

All these wonders come at a very steep price. You’ll want to save these lozenges only for the situations of extreme urgency.

Not all flavors are made the same. Lemon, for instance, is too sweet and doesn’t really taste like lemon.

Unlike the previous drops whose package design looks terribly unremarkable, Ricola Original Cough Drops do make a strong visual impression. They just look like they belong to the supermarket section where you buy soups and noodles.

But, when your eyes adjust and when you finally recognize these drops for what they are you will see that they pack quite a decent proposal, coming at a very affordable price.

Sure, you might be tempted to say “Barbara, the price gap between Silver Throat Lozenges and Ricola Cough Drops is not that huge” but remember, here you get 20 more drops which makes all the difference in the world.

Following the long tradition of Ricola products, these drops are packed with soothing ingredients like Wild Thyme, Linden Flowers, Peppermint, Lemon Balm, and Horehound.

But, that’s pretty much it, and if you’re looking for some advanced medical properties, you should look for them elsewhere. Also, Ricola lozenges can be found in only one, Ricola flavor. It’s good to know that famous Swiss manufacturer is still clinging to its tradition, but, if you have small kids, you may have a problem persuading them to use the drops.

Things I Liked

A very fine product, coming from a famous manufacturer with more than 80 years of tradition.

A lot of value for the money.

It's good to know that Ricola bases its products solely on the properties of soothing medicinal herbs.

Things I Didn’t Like

Caramel flavor may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Medicinal herbs are capable of getting the job done, but only to an extent. If you are facing the flu, you may want to look for something more efficient.

Halls is a brand that is synonymous with cough drops. Honestly, how many times you just said Halls instead of drops or lozenges? As expected, Halls was also one of the first brands I decided to put to the test.

Now, Halls offers a lot of options to choose from. Some smaller packages feature a wide variety of flavors such as Honey Berry, Mountain Menthol, and Black Cherry. I eventually went for this Honey Lemon package because it represents such a good deal.

Getting 180 drops at this price point is a true bargain. And we are not talking about a low-quality product. Although they are not laden with silver and they don't have exciting buzzwords written all over the package, the Honey lemon drops you'll find in the bag do a surprisingly good job.

And, what's important they are doing it rather fast. Put the drop in your mouth, and it won't take more than 10 seconds before you start experiencing the soothing effect. The taste is good, and both honey and lemon are the things that you should, by all means, ingest if you catch the flu.

As for a serious cough and inflammation, these drops simply won't cut it. That's not what they were designed for. Now, if you catch a cold and your throat feels sore, you’ll hardly find a better offer at this price point.

Things I Liked

A lot of value for the money.

Honey and lemon are just the things you need if you’re feeling sick.

The drops are doing their job extremely efficiently.

Things I Didn’t Like

The drops are what they are - they provide a mild soothing effect in the cases of mild flu or throat soreness.

Different flavors come in different packages, so if you are not in favor of lemon, you won’t get the same offer.

DoTerra is an MLM company based in Utah. Although some of my friends are involved with the company, I knew very little about them, besides the fact that they are dealing with essential oils.

You can only imagine just how ecstatic I was when I mentioned that I am doing research on cough drops to one of those friends only to learn that DoTerra makes their essential oil-based drops aimed at solving respiratory problems. Surprise, surprise – just what Barbara needed at the moment.

I am happy to report that DoTerra’s drops perform extremely well. Each drop contains a blend of Lemon, Peppermint, Cardamom, Eucalyptus, Thyme, and Melissa Oil, which may be just the perfect combination you may wish for if you catch a cold.

And I am not talking about dealing with a sore throat. When I got sick this winter, it took only one drop of these for me to be able to breathe again. In short, if you are looking for a product that will ease your long snotty days, congratulations, you've found one.

However, I have to mention the elephant in the room here – DoTerra Respiratory Drops are rather pricey. In fact, you’ll need to pay less to eat silver. Given the fact that the package contains only 30 drops, this price point may be a major turn down for a majority of buyers.

Things I Liked

A perfect storm of healthy ingredients.

Drops perform extremely well.

Facing a nasal congestion? No problem, just take one of these drops and you’ll be able to breathe again.

Things I Didn’t Like

Obviously, the price. As I said, the drops perform extremely well but you won’t feel too inclined to use them very often.

In a four-member family, the 30-drop package tends to disappear rather quickly.

When you take a look at any Cold-Eeze product, it's very hard to escape the upbeat and youthful vibe this brand is trying to convey. Their lozenges follow this pattern – they look and taste like they are made for young and energetic people who are constantly on the move.

Sure, the package may contain only 18 drops, but it's also very cheap, easy to fit in your pocket and you can always get more once you come back home.

The flavors you can choose from feel equally as energetic. Tropical orange, pineapple, lemon lime… Those are all the words that will put a smile on a lot of young faces. Call me a traditionalist, but of all these flavors I still prefer the good old cherry.

But, although they initially drew my attention because of their interesting look, Cold-Eeze (what a cool spelling, huh?) are far from being “all style, but no substance.”

On the contrary, these lozenges even contain a certain amount of zinc gluconate, which means they can have an effect on the length of your cold. Not bad for a product that is being sold at such a low price. As long as you don’t mistake the drops for the appropriate treatment for influenza, they’ll do their job more than fine.

Things I Liked

A very interesting choice of flavors.

The inclusion of zincum gluconicum was a very smart move on behalf of manufacturer. You can use these drops to help your regular flu therapy.

Things I Didn’t Like

The price may be low, but so is the number of drops you get in the package (only 18).

In regards to cough and throat soreness, the drops perform ok, but that’s just about it.

Barbara Whitney

For the last 20 years, I’ve been cooking, preparing, researching, and gathering recipes, tools, and knowledge about food and the way we prepare it. Raising two lively boys and spoiling one great husband later, it’s safe to say that I’ve optimized my kitchen to deliver the best possible meal, no matter the occasion.

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